


Witch hunters

by Hambarton



Category: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Hansel & Gretel: witch hunters - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Time Travel, every Jeremy Renner movie is an undercover mission, in which Clint and Wanda go witch hunting, pietro still dead sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-22 10:44:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19665850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hambarton/pseuds/Hambarton
Summary: Most people will say witches aren't real, it's stuff of fairy tales. Then, one day, they show up at your door and force you to time travel to kill them all. That's where Clint and Wanda come in!





	Witch hunters

"Why do you think he chooses us to do this?"

"I've never tried to understand Dr. Doom before, and I don't think you should either. Dude's weird", Clint sipped on his mug of beer. The loud chatter in the bar has drowned out Wanda's voice, so Clint has to read her lips. She was trembling, he noticed.

"He could've picked anyone. Why us?"

Because, as far as Wanda knows, she's only been an Avenger for like, what, 2 months? And though Clint is named the world's greatest marksman, she doubts time traveling and Latverian witches are exactly his expertise.

Clint put down his wooden mug and whispered low, "I'm the dude with Paleolithic weapon, you're the magic girl. It kinda fits." He shrugged. "I mean, Tony can't be here because all that tin can suit would be too out of place, right? And Cap's suit makes him look like a fucking clown anywhere he goes. Same with the rest, I guess". They'd need to blend-in in this mission.

"I don't know a thing about doing undercover stuffs", Wanda murmured, her nervousness intensified. The girl was still grieving her twin brother, she barely had enough time to train and perfect her power. Not that any of them knows magic, but at least she needs some basic self-defense. Nat has thought of dragging her to the gym and making her punch some sandbag as a way to cope, same thing Cap did after the defrost, but there was never the right time.

"I'm not good with magic either, well except circus tricks. So what? We're a team. We got this. I got your back. You got mine"

Wanda smiled faintly, her breath still shaking. She willed herself to focus. They have to finish this mission to go back to the present, that's Dr. Doom's deal.

And to be honest, there was no deal at all. They were forced to go back in time and kill witches in the medieval Latveria before they could pose a threat to the present day. Doing a favor, Doom said.

"So, what now?"

○○○ 

First thing first, they have to gain people's trust. Can't go around killing people (witches) when they're not even a citizen. Things are much easier when your SHIELD badge and Avenger card are enough for any kind of affair, from free coffee to fighting bad guys in someone's apartment. Doom only gave them a traditional recurve bow, a full quiver, some historical appropriate clothes and money and a special gun (it looks medieval enough, in Clint's opinion, but definitely will make these people hesitate).

Once they zapped to past-Latveria, Clint suggested they go to a bar to pick up words about the witch. Soon enough, Wanda overheard some men talking about a witch execution in front of the town hall. They left immediatly and headed to where the execution was about to take place.

"She's not a witch", Wanda breathed, frowning at the sheriff's mistake. "She's not -"

Before Wanda could finish, Clint has already nocked an arrow and pointed it at the sheriff.

"Let the woman go!", he growled, his fake accent almost slipped, "She's not a witch".

Some guard fumbled for their gun, but Wanda was one step ahead. She pointed the Doom gun at them, all swift and professional-like, as if she's done this thousand times before. "Don't. Just, don't", she grunted.

Clint smirked cockily. So Wanda's not as bad at this as she thought. Without lowering his bow, he whispered to her "Go check her. Tell them why she's not a witch"

Wanda stepped forward, the crowd already parted for her, silence draped over them instead of the chaos just moments before Clint spoke up. The sheriff could only stare as Wanda inspected the woman. "When a woman deals with witchcraft, she won't be able to hide it. There should be something rotten inside. It shows in her teeth, her skin and her eyes". When she finished, Wanda turned to the crowd. Clint has moved to stand next to the sheriff. "I'm sure your sheriff just wants to protect you. But, this woman is innocent. You got the wrong person"

"Who are you two?", the sheriff glared at them with angry eyes. Clint rolled his. He's never had a good impression with the cops anyways.

"My name is Wanda, and this is my brother", the words slipped easily on Wanda's tongue, as if out of habit, "Clinton". He almost flinched at the name. "We're witch hunters, at your service"

○○○

Wanda was surprised at herself, then quickly blamed Clint for not discussing their roles in the first place. Was that supposed to be the first thing they should do?

It has always been her and Pietro. They're the Maximoffs twins. They're a team, they look after each other. Pietro was her brother, the only family she had. Even if for an undercover mission, it still feels wrong to call Clint her brother.

"I'm sorry, Wanda", Clint said. His soft voice a contradiction to their strutting away from the crowd, their weapons on their shoulder all badass-like.

"You didn't do anything", she forced a smile.

"Look, don't act all okay around me, okay? You can be mad, you can be depressed all you like because I know it still hurts. Let it hurt, no one's gonna judge you. I'll punch them if they do"

Wanda nodded, but avoided Clint's eyes the whole way back.

○○○

It wasn't long before the mayor came to them for help. He showed them reports on the witches' activity in the last 12 months, and was extremely relieved when there's someone who actually cares to do something about the matter. The sheriff's not doing a great job then.

"They've kidnapped 5 kids this month only. Please help us stop these witches. You two are our only hope right now"

"It's our job, sir. We'll do our best", Wanda assured the desperate man.

"By the way, you know a place we could catch a rest? An inn, maybe? My sister and I need to prepare a bit before do all the witch killing, you know?"

○○○

All that talk about them being _the only hope we got_ , and he gave them a tiny guest room in his own house. Not even have enough bed for two of them.

Clint hasn't known how exactly they're going to kill the witches yet. According to the mayor, normal guns won't harm them, so he doubts his arrows would do any good, either.

"How do you kill a witch?", he asked out loud.

"Behead them. Rip off their heart. Set them on fire", Wanda deadpanned.

Okay. So none of those he could do with his arrows. Why is he here, really?

"I can't use my power, right?", Wanda tapped her nails on the table, still avoiding Clint's eyes. "They'll think I'm a witch myself"

"Shit. I didn't think of that. Seriously what was Doom thinking when he sent us here? Weapons can't kill them, and magic is forbidden here. What he wants us to do?" Clint sighed heavily. "I'm sorry Wanda"

"Why you keep saying sorry for the thing you didn't do? That's kinda dumb. It's not your fault, old man"

The truth is Clint's always sorry. For everything he owed Wanda and Pietro. Pietro died saving him, Clint didn't ask him to, but he did, and now he couldn't shake the guilt that it was his fault Wanda is alone. Brotherless. Clint owed them to protect Wanda, but now he had no idea how possibly he could do that.

Suddenly Wanda stood up "Wait what if I cast spells on your arrowheads and bullets beforehand? Make them fatal to the witches! Nobody would know!". Her eyes glinted with excitement, making Clint think of Tony when he figured some science stuff out. Except Tony always has this arrogant look on his face, while Wanda's just happy she could contribute something. Clint gave her a thumb up and a proud smile.

"You're a genius"

○○○

Wanda got the weapons prepared before they went to bed, as cautious as she could. She couldn't afford to let the glowing red light escape the window of their room. When all was done, she made her way to the bed, too drained from using her power to notice what Clint was doing.

Feeling Wanda's eyes on him, Clint explained. "My brother and I grown up in the circus. You do this so no clown can steal your stuffs", he pointed at a pair of boots and a neat pile of clothes on top of it on the floor. Then he laid down on it, content with his makeshift pillow. "Goodnight, Wanda"

It was as if she was hit by a wave. Wanda let her face fall, knowing Clint couldn't see it in the dark. "Back in Sokovia, they kept us in different rooms", she started, "I could never know if he survived the tests or not. They always took away the kids who didn't at night, so every night I stayed up just trying to reach out to him. It was terrifying being separated from the only family you have, you know?"

Wanda stopped before her voice could crack. She didn't why she's telling this to Clint, but she continued anyways. "One day I could finally hear him, he was saying goodnight to me. That was the first day I actually slept for a long time"

○○○

In the morning, they and the sheriff headed to this part of the forest where there were rumors about the witches. Wanda was sure the sheriff wasn't here for the witches, since his guns wouldn't do much harm. No, he's here for her and Clint. Even if they've gained some trust from the mayor, it's pretty clear that they didn't impress the sheriff at all.

When they found a strange house in the middle of the forest, sure enough, the sheriff stopped to 'stand guard' from a well distance away. Wanda sneered at him, then continued forward with Clint. He threw her the Doom gun.

"I trust you, okay? Got my back", he winked. Wanda never used a gun before. The other time she was just, acting badass. How could he trust her? Maybe he's just an idiot. Still, she raised the gun and strutted to the house, Clint by her side. "Give them hell, sister"

○○○

The witch was fast. Faster than gun, faster than Clint's arrows. Wanda was clumsy with the gun, but she knew enough not to fire randomly. She was more focused on dodging whatever the witch threw at them. Clint tried to distract her, but she knew Wanda's the better target, not being as fast and flexible as Clint. When a pan was thrown at Wanda's head, Clint was quick enough to block it with his back, taking the hit with a dry "Ow". From his side, Wanda aimed the gun at the witch as she turned to run away, thinking she and Clint were too distracted now to catch her. The bullet hit true to her head, and the witch crashed down to the ground just a few steps out the door.

Clint looked back and forth from the witch to Wanda, then back to the witch, then shook Wanda's shoulders. "You did it!", he squeaked

Wanda smacked the back of his head. "Why you took that hit, you dumb old man? I could've ducked. I was about to duck!"

"Ah, sorry. Instinct, I guess". He scratched his head. He couldn't help but think of how Pietro took the bullets for him. Pietro would do the same for Wanda. Protective brother's instinct, right?

"Your back okay?", Wanda softened her voice

"It's fine. I've had worse. C'mon, let's get the sheriff. We got a long day to go."

○○○

They went from one witch house to another, Wanda slowly picked up the pace, her shooting more confident, her reflex faster as they killed witch after witch.

This house is different, though. As soon as they walked in, a loud voice greeted them. "Hello, witch hunters". The house seemed to be empty, but the voice was everywhere at once. It continued "Oh, a witchling herself! I can smell magic on you. What are you doing here, girl?"

Wanda stopped short. The sheriff still took guard outside the house, but he's been getting closer and closer as he saw what she and Clint were capable of. He could be right outside the window now. If he heard the voice, she's most likely to be burn alive tonight.

Clint took the lead, arrow nocked ready as he walked around the house. Wanda stood still, eyes darting to the window. The sheriff was nowhere to be seen, but she knew he was there. Her hands started to shake when a hand knocked her gun down and then grabbed her arm and dragged her away. "CLINT!", she screamed.

○○○

"You sure you didn't see anyone coming out of the house?"

Clint was pacing frantically, the sheriff turned white at his anger. Clint knew he couldn't ask much from this man, but he was supposed to keep guard, right? That's the least he could do. That's all he asks from him.

"I didn't ... see anything", he stuttered. Clint cursed loudly. Wanda's missing. Captured. And it was all his fault, again.

○○○

Her kidnapper was a talkative kind of witch, which is annoying, but Wanda figured patience during the bad guy's monologue is part of the spy job, so she kept quiet and tried to gather as much information as she could. It wasn't hard to act like she was nothing but a scarred girl: her entire body was shaking, her breath uncontrolably shallow.

"You see, tomorrow is the blood moon. I almost got everything ready, the most important ingredient finally here, just a few more children. Won't be so hard. I was lucky, wasn't I?"

That's when another witch rushed in, grinning wickedly as she announced "They're all here"

○○○

Once they got back to the village, the sheriff declared "Your sister is a witch"

_Really? Now?_ "We killed like 10 witches for you today. And this is how you thank us?"

"You're liars!"

"Now what, you gonna hang me up or something? May I remind you, the witches are still out there. You need us. You need me. And I don't need you at all, since you can't even keep guard when it's all we ask from you, Mr. Sheriff", he snapped, not bothered about the accent. He needed to find Wanda, and this idiot was really testing him. He shook his head. Seems like being hero is hard no matter it's 20th century or in the dark age. He walked back to the forest, leaving the sheriff to do whatever he wanted. It's not wise to go after the witches after dark, they said, but he made sure nobody's thought of him as smart before. He silently cursed every decisions he's made that's led him here, and walked to the dark.

○○○

Dr. Doom has said he'd put them back to when the witches activity rate was at all time low. Wanda didn't want to think about how many witches is there in the present day. The witches soon crammed into the cave where she was captured, there must be a hundred of them.

This was not gonna be easy. Not when her power still so unstable. She wouldn't have a second chance if she failed, the witches would have a knife at her throat. She still hasn't quite figured out their plan yet, but she knew it'll happen tomorrow. What now, Wanda, think, think, think.

She found herself thinking of Clint. She doubted Clint knew what happened. When the witch grabbed her, she created a portal that sent them here. He may have heard her scream, but how could he knew where she was?

The idea jolted her up. She concentrated and sent a telepathic message to Clint, then repeated it, just in case. That's when a witch caught her. "You got some tricks, girl". The witch pointed a wand at her and casted a spell before Wanda could even feel her panic surged up. Her head hurted as if it was hit against the wall. Wanda felt an emptiness in her vein. Her magic, silent.

Wanda never decided if her power was a gift or a curse before. She didn't even know if she should be relieved or sorry. Her head was still ringing, the sound of the witches's chatter somewhere far away.

"You're sure the girl's who we're looking for? You know we need a white witch's heart for the ritual, right? I don't think she is one. Her magic is something else, maybe far more wicked than ours!"

"She's a very powerful white witch, but not more powerful than us. She's merely a child. Besides, we got her magic under control, didn't we? Relax a bit, won't you? Just one more day, and our kind would be immune from fire forever."

○○○

As uncomfortable as it felt, Clint was relieved when Wanda's message echoed in his head. _I'm in a cave - somewhere in the forest. There's like a hundred of them. Their plan is due tomorrow. Be quick._

Clint didn't know how it worked, but he focused on the thought, hoping Wanda could hear him. _I'm coming. Stay safe. I'll get you out of there_

Clint checked his weapons. His quiver still full, since he recollected every arrows he shot at the witch. The Doom gun didn't have much firearm left, that could be a problem. 100 witches. Fast, nasty witches. And he had a bow and arrows.

_He'd kill them all._

○○○

Wanda didn't flinch when she saw a huge silhouette out of the corner of her eyes. It was the troll who worked for the witch who kidnapped her, she realized. For all the big mouth, _she's merely a child talking_ , maybe Wanda did intimidate them enough that she had to order him to stand guard while they partied and celebrated outside.

The troll gave her a leather flask. Water. She took it without hesitation, something told her she could trust him. Maybe by the gentle way he held the flask, or the sad look in his eyes when he was ordered to lock the kids up. Wanda took a big gulp of water. Her head started to clear a bit.

"Thanks. What's your name?"

"Edward"

"Thanks, Edward. I'm Wanda"

She knew she had to convince Edward to help her get out of here. But how would she do this? Normally she can easily control people's mind with her power, but now striped bare of her magic, how could she? Wanda made a mental note to ask Natasha to train her once they got back. If they got back.

"Why are you doing this? They're about to kill innocent children, Edward. I can see you're not a bad guy, so why?"

Edward looked down. "I have to serve my sister"

_Edward's her kidnapper's brother?_ Now she really pitied the guy. She saw how she ordered him around as if he's her servant.

"That's not how siblings work, Edward. She's mistreating you. And you know that!" Wanda could see the sad look on Edward's face. He didn't even try to argue with Wanda. He knew he was being used.

"I had - have a brother, too. He'll do everything for me, but not because I order him to, but just because he loves me. And I'll do the same for him, without a doubt. We're equals, we're a team. We make fun of each other sometimes, but we'll never belittle each other. And we'll never let anyone hurt the other, not even our friends"

Edward nodded slowly, a distant look in his eyes. A minute gone by, then he whispered "You have to kill the witch who casted the spell"

○○○

Some said Clint got his way with the superheroes life just by dumb luck, and most days he would defend himself (if Nat didn't beat him to it first). But this time, he really thought he accidently drank some lucky potion or something, because even though he didn't know how he got here, he was now at the cave where Wanda's captured. It's definitely the right cave, the witches' laughter was a big giveaway. Clint hoped these witches were just too arrogant to celebrate before they succeeded their plan. "Don't you dare die on me too, Wanda".

○○○

Wanda was dragged to the ground outside, the chains around her ankles rattled with every step she took. She thought she's changed Edward's mind, she was almost sure of it, but maybe he couldn't see a chance we both could get out of here alive. They both shared an apologetic look when he clasped the lock on the chain.

That's when she noticed Clint up high above. She sighed in a mix of contentment and relief. She whispered to Edward "My brother's here"

○○○

The witches were on his tail as soon as he shot the first arrow. He barely avoided their hex spells as he looked for Wanda. They chained her legs up, must be some sort of magic chain, Clint thought, something to mess with Wanda's power, otherwise she's already walked out of here. He got out of his hideaway to shoot an arrow at the lock, just a baby explosive one. The lock sprung free, not leaving a scratch on Wanda's leg. Clint turned back immediately to shoot at the witches, not giving them the chance to understand what happened. Now that Wanda's free, they're already dead. He couldn't help but grinning, losing his focus for one second. That costed him a blow in the rib. He groaned in pain as the witches laughed in satisfaction.

Wanda took the chance to run away, heading to the where the children were kept. She looked to Edward. It's their chance now. He threw her a key, and she quickly unlocked the cage. She told Edward to get the kids to safety, then run back to Clint.

Kill her, she put the image of the witch who took her magic away in his mind.

The witches barely had time to register what Clint was about to do. They were too busy laughing and mocking him. Stupid witches.

Wanda felt her magic come back as Clint's arrow pierced through the witch's head. Too fast. The witch fell from her broom, then hit the ground with a loud sound of bone breaking. Everything went still for a moment, then the witches lunged forward, their fingers clawed as if ready to rip Clint's head off. None of them paid attention to Wanda, until some noticed a glowing red light around their neck.

With her magic overflowed in her veins, begging to be let out, she killed one witch after another, all the while shielding Clint from any spell the witches may cast at him. Clint tried his best to help her, too, shooting arrows non-stop. When he ran out of arrows, Clint ran down to get the children. He trusted Wanda could managed with the rest of the witches, only a few of them left now.

But blocking him from the children right now was a huge troll. He held his fists up like some idiot who thinks he could beat Hulk with his bare hand, but the troll held his hands up in surrender.

"Wanda's brother?", he asked hesitantly.

Clint loosened his fists. "Wanda! You know this guy?", he cried.

"It's Edward!" Wanda gritted her teeth as she went one on one with the last witch. Edward's sister. When Clint looked back at Edward, he was trembling, a move too out of place with his giant build

"EDWARD! HOW DARE YOU? AFTER EVERYTHING I DID FOR YOU?", the witch bellowed.

"YOU DID NOTHING FOR ME!", Edward answered, the ground shook with his anger. That was the moment Wanda cut her head off.

○○○

"You're okay?", Clint ran to Wanda as she collapsed on the ground, too exhausted from using her power.

"You look like shit, you know that?" Clint's face was caked with blood from standing too close from the witches when she killed them. "You'll scare the kids away"

"They didn't scream at Edward. How bad could I look, huh?" He turned to give Edward a thumb up, the troll awkwardly waved back. Then back to Wanda, he said "It's okay. We could go home now. Well, we have to get the kids home first, but hey, mission completed". Clint held a hand up for a high five, but Wanda threw her arms around him instead. He was taken aback, but simply return the hug without question.

"Sorry I couldn't get here sooner"

"Oh shut it with your sorry bullshit old man. Apologies accepted or whatever", Wanda laughed through her grunting breath.

Now Clint's avoiding her eyes. He lowered his voice. "I miss him too, you know? I mean, of course I'm not ... you, but I'll do anything to change it, Wanda. I'm sorry. It should've been me"

Wanda put a hand on his shoulder, realization came over her. This entire time she's called him 'old man' thinking it was funny. "I'm sorry, too. But don't do that to yourself, Clint. He chose to do it", she accepted that fact with ease now, "I think he'd want us to remember him, not to torture ourselves for the thing we didn't do"

Clint nodded, not bother to wipe the trace of tears on his cheeks. "I guess you're right. Come on, let's go home"

○○○

"So Dr. Doom force you to go back in time and kill witches?", Steve raised an eyebrow at them.

"It's not Avenger stuffs, and it's like a few centuries ago. Why we have to report it?", Clint groaned, his eyes half-opened.

"Because we'll need more information about Dr. Doom. Maybe it could help us understand him"

"Why nobody listens to me!? Don't try to understand Doom!"

"Yeah Cap, dude's weird", Wanda nudged Clint's side jokingly. Steve stared at them in pure shock. Couldn't blame him, though, Wanda's been emotionless the entire time she stayed at the tower. This might be the first time she smiled genuinely since Pietro's death. She still missed him, of course, but she knew it's time to get off her ass.

"Oh, hey Cap, I think I'm ready to start training now."


End file.
